You've Got a Friend
by bspokebelle
Summary: Thought Kate needed someone supportive.
1. Chapter 1

Greg was one of her oldest friends. He would do anything for Kate. Kate wondered why Caroline refused to see that and instead chose to see him as an adversary?

He'd always wanted what was best for Kate and he could see that his dear, sweet friend was hurting and longing and genuinely wanted nothing more than to restore the bright light that had gone out in her eyes, had wanted to lift the pall concealing her whimsical heart.

He tenderly held her naked, wounded body and kissed her fraught but still exquisite face with the affection of a care-taker. He entered her with a solid determination to reach the destination where hearts were made and sometimes broken…

Kate wept ever so quietly or was it that the beating of her heart against her chest demanding to be let out drowned out her profound sobs? She had given up on the love of her life for the last time, but she was immovable in her desire to be somebody's mum.

She told herself that it would all be alright in the end. She had the love and support of a dear friend. She was keenly aware of the moment of conception that night with Greg…it was an all too familiar feeling. She had every confidence in her ability to conceive and she was armed with a clean bill of health from her physician. It seemed that she was well on her way to fulfilling her dreams of motherhood. She wouldn't dwell on the empty space and empty promises left by her last lover nor the possibility that her chromosomes might fail her a fifth time…

Greg spent the entire journey back to Kate's bungalow engaging her with pop music trivia and horror stories from the dating scene. Kate likened the search of finding the right partner to the search for a needle in a haystack. Greg assured her that he was in no rush and was well up for it. Kate hoped that, with any luck, her child would have his incredible sense of adventure and good nature. She appreciated the fact that he had given no opinion on Caroline.

_Caroline…_Kate sighed…

Love is blind…and a form of madness!


	2. Love's An Empty Language

Love's An Empty Language

She got in, shut the door…then turned 'round to make certain it was bolted. It had been a particularly emotional day and Kate wanted no more business with the world outside and it surely it wanted no more business with her. Yet and still she raised the windows in the sitting room just a touch to let out the stifled air that had been trapped all day in her one-woman cotage.

She proceeded to the kitchen to put the kettle on and prepare a plate of cheese and crackers and melon and prosciutto. Along the way she switched on the radio. It was still at full volume from the time she was home gathering and sorting things before going back to Caroline's. She remembered Lawrence's 'rocket science' shot across the bow that day in Caroline's kitchen. It amazed her how happiness triumphantly danced all over apprehension and how she'd packed and pranced to Prince's "Irresistible Bitch". God, had it really been that long since she had filled her place with music? But this?! Barbra bloody Streisand!? _I am a woman in love and I'll do anything to get you into my world…_No Thanks! Kate swiftly silenced the ridiculous declarations blasting through the stillness and her numb core.

Before she could even realize… she found herself face first in the toilet purging herself of agony and ache. She needed to protect the very precious life that was growing inside her. She knew that she needed to be optimistic, albeit cautiously, about the day when the pure joy that had taken quite a few wrong turns around the bend to finally meet her face to face. In the distance she made out the familiar sound of the kettle releasing trapped steam. Tea kettles don't whistle, Kate thought…they scream! How had she not ever noticed that before? She was a music instructor for Heaven's sake! God almighty! Could she be more all over the place? So wrought with fear of the unknown? Was it a simple lesson that she'd never learned? How did she wind up so confounded and conflicted?

As she sipped her tea and devoured crackers to quell her anxiety, there was a text from Greg saying that his flight out to Geneva was on time and that he'd ring her once he'd checked in to the GMO summit and got settled in his hotel room and that he'd hoped that her meeting with Caroline yielded a positive outcome. She recalled how excited he was for her when she told him the news of her pregnancy and had how he had encouraged her to find a way to get past her despair and anger over Caroline's indisputable fuck up. He sincerely wished that she could find a way to move forward and get things right with the woman he knew had claimed her heart. But Kate had decided to use her head instead that morning. No such luck there! Kate responded to Greg's text out loud. She took note of the fact that, for the time being, she was back to talking to herself. And then made another mental note to find the sweet little story books of classic children's tales in Italian that she had used to help her comprehend the language ages ago to read aloud to the love inside her once the potato and leek soup that she was preparing was set to simmer. She was not going to allow herself a moment of precious time feeling guilty about the way she had left things with Caroline earlier in the day…for her inability to capitulate…for the moments of self-loathing thinking that she was not an actual scientist getting actual results…for not knowing how to make it right without any assistance from her glorious headmistress.

Love's an empty language when not fearlessly spoken…the modern languages teacher mused sadly.


	3. Chapter 3

Maybe We're Wrong and the World is Right

It was difficult for Kate to not dissolve into nothingness when she surrendered herself to thoughts of Caroline's electric blue gaze that sent such terrifyingly exhilarating bursts of energy through Kate that would rival Tesla's own imaginings. Of the hint of chocolate in the orange blossom potion she scented her neck and shoulders with that made Kate feel like she was barely clinging to the tallest of trees. The notes of violet and cream Kate detected in Caroline's voice whenever she heard her call out her name and the orchestral movements it roused in her regions of desire. The way Caroline turned the words on pages of books into succulent feasts of opulent fortification. The feeling of being spun like silk derived from every touch of Caroline's purposeful fingertips. The luminous state of ecstasy when they were alone together tangled within the sheets, gliding blindly through the dark secret of night until they'd reached the dew of morning…

The sudden shift of light from a marauding band of clouds streaking across a setting sun produced a shaft of light that woke Kate from her reverie…

Vividly recalling the afternoon in Caroline's kitchen with John and Celia when she'd found herself gleefully sifting through possible names for babies, her slip of the tongue nearly divulging she and Caroline's parenting plans and Celia's befuddlement and subsequent confident proclamation that Caroline was too old and "she'd not want to go through all of that again at her age!" No…Kate thought…it was best to just get on with it, with life without Caroline. There was no more need of weighing out the uncertainty and variability of plausible outcomes.

Sufficiently sated for the time being, Kate cleared the tiny, rustic table tucked in the corner of her kitchen and then gave the simmering pot of soup a gentle stir allowing the aromatic fusion at play underneath the clay lid to fill her senses. She drifted off into the sitting room and gingerly lowered herself into the cushioned chair that faced the panoramic window…nimbly strumming the plumpening lump of her belly as she basked in a spectacular twilight.

Try as she might, Kate was defenseless in ridding herself of thoughts easily leading always back to Caroline. As she supped on soup and toasted bread her head filled with the events of her day, most specifically of the events that had occurred earlier in Caroline's office.

The four walls of Caroline's office seemed to gather from the hinterlands to lay siege upon Kate's logical strategy…unmercifully pushing up against her hopelessness and helplessness… knowing full well that she'd wanted nothing more than the thrill of delivering the happy news to Caroline that, amazingly, she was twelve weeks into carrying their child. For her, it was a thrill of a lifetime, but obviously, for Caroline, it was simply logistics. The way Caroline reacted to her news… blunt and dismissive, as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth only squared Kate's resolve that their relationship would always be a tedious and endless game of Go, Fetch! Although, she hadn't really thought out what she'd hoped Caroline to say or do, the acquiescent, "Congratulations." Caroline uttered as Kate moved to leave her office didn't lessen Kate's contentions. So, she had finished what she'd gone into that room to do and would leave it at that…

Only as she was making her way to bed did she realize the tune that she'd been humming in her head all day was Everything But the Girl's self-assuring vow …

_You see… I always was your girl… always will be… you and me against the world …_


End file.
